The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination in the State continues to be a farce, as some teacher unions have pointed out, with malpractice being the order of the day.
The question paper ‘leak’ at Tadihatnoor exam centre in Narnoor mandal of Adilabad district on March 19 and alleged irregularities at Utnoor exam centre on day 1 of SSC (March 15) have sparked a debate on fair conduct of the all-important exams.
A case has been booked against four exam officials and a candidate for the alleged leak at Tadihatnoor, while suspension orders have come in for four officials at Utnoor for “negligence in controlling malpractice”.
When malpractice goes unchecked, the district records a minimum pass rate of 80%. But when controlling measures are in place, the percentage falls drastically. State general secretary of Telangana United Teachers Forum, Thumma Lacchiram says, “During the incumbency of Collector Babu Ahmed in 2014, the SSC pass percentage fell from over 80 to less than 35 as the exams were conducted under watchful eyes. Similarly, the pass rate at centres like Girls’ Residential School in Asifabad, where CCTV cameras were set up, stood at a meagre 20%. In several centres with no such checks, over 80% of the candidates passed the exam.”
This is the third SSC exam since the Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) system was put in place, replacing the conventional one.
The new system tests the level of understanding of students in a particular subject rather than assessing their ability to remember specific answers to questions, thus eliminating chances of conventional copying.
It has, however, taken malpractice to an altogether different level — using technology, i.e., smart phones.
“During the exam season in rural areas, a nexus is established between villagers and exam officials as also police and local journalists,” alleges an office bearer of a teachers’ union, seeking anonymity.
“As villagers want their children to pass, they bribe exam officials mostly by hosting parties in the night and handing over cash. The villagers grease the palms of local police and journalists so that the incidence of copying goes unreported. Let alone private schools, even staff members of prestigious residential and ashram schools promote copying to avoid being penalised for dismal results,” the teacher leader adds.
It is also alleged that some certain schools have subject teachers or Vidya Volunteers stationed near exam centres to supply answers to questions transmitted by exam officials on social messaging platform.
